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Over his long and legendary career, Jay Z’s businesses, music, and name have all changed—and so has his process for creating album art. Beginning with his mafia-style look on the cover of Reasonable Doubt to the sparse styling on his new album 4:44, we took a look at how the artwork on every Jay Z album has evolved along with his music and how it mimics his moves outside of the recording booth.
'Reasonable Doubt' (1996)
Art Direction: Adrien Vargas
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Illustrator: Cey Adams
After years of making noise on the underground circuit, Jay Z made his first move with the release of Reasonable Doubt, which was originally titled Heir to the Throne. According to Jonathan Mannion, the album cover’s photographer, Heir to the Throne was going to have more of monarchy-inspired look with a flashier Miami Vice feel. But when Jay switched things up to Reasonable Doubt, Mannion and Jay decided to ground the album in a classic, mafia-style Brooklyn vibe.
“At the time, stylistically guys were rocking Versace suits and linen, all the fly guys were rocking that. And I was like let’s do this different. Think Brooklyn. True bosses that move in silence, a sort of mafia vibe. Running shit. That was the mentality I applied to the album," Mannion said.
And as you can see on the album's cover, Jay’s scarf, hat, and cigar hide most of his face, bringing a wealthy, bossed-up, gang-leading hustler image to life—the life Jay struggles to make a clean break from on Reasonable Doubt.
'In My Lifetime, Vol. 1' (1997)
Art Direction: The Drawing Board
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Illustrator: The Drawing Board
Jay Z, now years removed from hustling and fully invested in the rap game, shows off his new look and added perspective on In My Lifetime… Vol.1's cover, which was again photographed by Jonathan Mannion. Pounding his fists together while rocking a blazer-cut coat, Jay looks more like the newly successful, talented kid who made it big than the drug kingpin of old.
Building on that, you can hear how this character is reflected in grittier songs like “Where I’m From” and “Imaginary Player.” On Vol. 1, Hov goes from the corner to the barbershop, and the cover's vibe syncs with those stories.
'Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life' (1998)
Art Direction: The Drawing Board
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Illustrator: The Drawing Board
With his third studio album, Jay Z becomes a bona fide star thanks to the massive crossover success of the pop-friendly hit single “Hard Knock Life."
His ascent up the charts officially began with Vol. 2 and Jonathan Mannion's cover shot of Jay reflects that newfound success. Jay fully looks the part of the successful rapper in an all-black-everything suit to match one of his favorite cars, the Bentley Azure 97. He’s spotted in the same car for the single artwork of “Hard Knock Life.”
'Vol 3… Life and Times of S. Carter' (1999)
Art Direction: The Drawing Board
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Illustrator: The Drawing Board
If there’s one song that sums up this album’s attitude, it’s the big-time lifestyle and bounce Jay Z gives us on “Big Pimpin'” with UGK. For the album cover, once again shot by Mannion, Hov wanted to put his fledgling business empire front-and-center— not only literally, but geographically, too.
On Vol. 3's cover, Jay's reigning over Midtown Manhattan on the corner of 46th street and 6th Avenue, just blocks away from—where else?— Rockefeller Center. Naturally, Jay is rocking his finest denim jacket by Rocawear, the clothing company he co-founded in 1999 and would later sell for over $200 million.
'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' (2000)
Art Direction: Dawud West
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Illustrator: Dawud West
This album’s widely known as Roc-A-Fella’s compilation album, although it’s technically another solo Jay Z project. As such, only Jay Z is on the album’s cover, but the Roc-A-Fella branding is prominently placed in front of his faded image, with his Rocawear chain falling right in-between the famous diamond hand symbol for the Roc.
'The Blueprint' (2001)
Art Direction: Jason Noto
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Illustrator: Bernheimer Design
Displaying a CEO, big-man-in-the-room motif, The Blueprint's cover was inspired by British photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg and his series of British gangsters in South London.
Taking a literal cue from the album’s title, the cover has a blue filter on it, with Jay Z puffing a cigar in front of his loyal foot-soldiers—or depending on how you see it, the rest of rap’s competition—standing at attention, waiting for him to speak. For Hov, the cover was also about showing off his personal bossman essentials: His Rocawear jacket, a cigar, cigar cutter, ashtray, and of course, a mic.
'The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse' (2002)
Art Direction: Brooklyn
Photographer: Albert Watson, Jonathan Mannion, and Rebecca Meek
Illustrator: Brooklyn
Although The Blueprint 2 double album isn’t known as Jay Z’s best work by any means, it was one of his more ambitious projects—he pressed up 25 songs across two CDs. The cover reflects the massive anticipation surrounding the album, with Jay’s face appearing more front and center than it's ever been on previous covers.
Hov's swaggerific, confident mug was seen across the world, and it moved units—the album’s since gone triple platinum. The cover of The Blueprint 2—along with its standout single “03 Bonnie & Clyde," featuring then-girlfriend Beyoncé—demonstrate how Jay wanted to expand his mainstream reach even further.
'The Black Album' (2003)
Art Direction: Robert Sims
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion, Lenny Santiago, and Walik Goshorn
Illustrator: Robert Sims
For what was meant to be Jay Z’s final album, Mannion created a simple, straightforward shot: Jay Z’s brim-covered face fading into the black background, as in, into retirement. As Mannion told The Fader, the cover image was actually from a test shoot—Jay didn’t really want to do a proper photo shoot for the album. But once he saw the image, it was decided.
Mannion explained to The Fader, “That shot became so attached to it, the black on black, that position of the hat. It became one of those iconic pictures right away. Once he saw that image, it really hit the mark. He was confident that the image was strong and subtle, and it was an image of him without it being like a big face on the cover.”
'Kingdom Come' (2006)
Art Direction: Unknown
Photographer: Anthony Mandler
Illustrator: Unknown
Kingdom Come is regarded as the worst of Jay Z’s albums—Hov himself put it at the bottom of his own ranking—but the cover made for good product marketing.
In a sea of albums, Kingdom Come’s deep red shade stands out amongst the mostly monotone covers. Representing his return to rap after a brief so-called “retirement,” Hov puts his menacing portrait—and signature Yankees fitted—front-and-center, forcing everyone to remember who’s still on top of the game.
'American Gangster' (2007)
Art Direction: Jay Z and JP Robinson
Photographer: Arthur Elgort
Illustrator: Jay Z and JP Robinson
Coming off of the flop that was Kingdom Come, Jay Z returned to his roots on the American Gangster cover. It was designed in just two days, and photographed in just an hour and a half, according Arthur Elgort, the album’s photographer.
The now iconic image was shot at a blacked-out restaurant so as to resemble a major scene in the movie American Gangster, which Hov watched on loop as inspiration while recording. Jay was tired of showing his face on album covers and Elgort says he admitted on set: “I can’t stay on photo shoots for so long. I’m not good with making the same face all the time.”
'The Blueprint 3' (2009)
Art Direction: Greg Gigenbad Burke
Photographer: Dan Tobin Smith
Illustrator: Unknown
The Blueprint 3 marked a move to more pop and experimental tracks for Jay Z, and it was also the first time he decided not to put himself on an album cover.
Hov explained the symbolism behind the whited out instrumentals and three stripes to MTV: "These [instruments] are like the forgotten pieces in hip-hop. It's still about music. It's not about radio, making gimmicks — it's still about making music. Those things are piled in the corner… The three stripes that everybody is asking about is made from the original [number] three. The first three they made on the wall was someone carving. If you look at [the number] 3, all they did was connect lines.”
'Magna Carta Holy Grail' (2013)
Art Direction: Brian Roettinger
Photographer: Ari Marcopoulos
Illustrator: Benjamin Bridges, Dennis Franklin & Suzanne Mjartan
With Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay Z turned to symbolism and his favorite pieces of art for working inspiration. As the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City revealed, the album’s cover is based off an Italian sculpture of Alpheus and Arethusa, two characters from Greek mythology who represent the theme of the album. Duality and tension between two forces were a driving force behind the album’s music, just as it was in the story of Alpheus and Arethusa.
Basically, Alpheus falls in love with Arethusa, who turns herself into a water well to curve him. But Alpheus was so in love with her that he transformed himself into a river so he could reunite with Arethusa. At its core, the Greek myth follows a biographical line for Jay: he desperately wants the things he pursues, and if they’re out of reach, he’ll finesse himself into positions to get what he wants.
'4:44' (2017)
Art Direction: Brian Roettinger
Photographer: N/A
Illustrator: N/A
On 4:44, Jay Z keeps things more pared down than ever before. He doesn't even bother putting his name on the cover—because, c'mon, you know the man—and instead opts to keep things quite literal, simply writing, "This is his 13th studio album."
As for the meaning behind the numbers 4:44, here's how Jay explained it to iHeartRadio: "4:44' is a song that I wrote, and it's the crux of the album, just right in the middle of the album. And I woke up, literally, at 4:44 in the morning, 4:44 AM, to write this song. So it became the title of the album and everything."